1. Field of the Invention
The invention is directed to a floor covering manufacturing technique and, more specifically, to a means of moving a carrier from the flooring just prior to the time that the flooring is rolled up in a controlled condition.
2. Description of the Prior Art
It is old in the art to make an unbacked, decorative thermoplastic vinyl resin-containing surface covering (flooring) having a self-induced tension. This product is manufactured by fusing a vinyl resin composition decorative layer and a vinyl resin composition backing layer to a strippable, dimensionally stable backing to form a fused, thermoplastic decorative surface covering. The strippable backing is removed from the surface covering, and the surface covering is rolled, placing the surface covering under tension and thereby elongating the outward facing layer and compressing the other layer of the flooring. The composition and structure of the outward facing layer is such that, on unrolling the surface covering, the elongated layer overcomes the compressed layer and the surface covering is stretched to a dimension greater than its original unrolled dimension. On securing the surface covering at its periphery only, the tendency of the surface covering to return to its original dimension, that is, its elastic memory, creates a self-induced tension therein.
The strippable backing must be removed from the flooring so as to permit the rolling up of the flooring to create the desired tension within the surface covering in the roll. The removing of the strippable backing must be carried out in such a manner that the tension placed in the rolled up flooring can be controlled and that the backing may serve an additional purpose of being a protective layer between the surfaces of the surface covering in its rolled up state.